Is it the Shoes?

How much is a shoe worth? For nearly 30 years, companies like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok (now owned by Adidas) have made staggering profits by marking up the prices of their shoes for sometimes hundreds of dollars. Possibly the biggest market for high dollar shoes is basketball/hip-hop culture.

Ironically the shoes being marketed are normally too expensive to the inner-city markets that they are targeting. I remember growing up watching my teammates buy the latest Air Jordan shoes and yet their close were run down and they could hardly afford to eat.

Now, NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury has introduced a new line of shoes and clothing from his new brand Starbury. Marbury wanted to provide youth with low-cost alternative to high-dollar shoes. He also wants prove with his new line that b-ball shoes don’t have to be expensive for a company to make a profit. The cost of the Starbury court shoes…. Only $15.00. Marbury believes that a family shouldn’t have to choose between a week of groceries or buying new shoes.

If Marbury’s shoes are truly the high quality he says, then could this signal some changes in the shoe industry? We’ll see…

If